Huntsville gazette., 1887-11-26
MRS. CHATHAM.
A Husbands Promise and a Wife's
Distrust.

He was one of the cleverest fellows
in the world, and she was the prettiest
of women. Such at least was the ver-
dict of the little watering place where
he first met her. She passed his hotel
every morning on her way to the
beach, and he thought her more charm
ing each day. And yet he resisted
temptation and did not seek an intro
duction for the simple reason that he
was not only clever but eccentric, and
decided in his eccentricities; and one
of his firmly-rooted prejudices was on
the subject of divorce. Hence his
aversion to q closer contact with a di-
vorcee, who had already attracted him
from a distance; for so Mabel Chatham
was generally called, though as a mat
of fact she was not divorced, nor in the
immediate expectation of so being
But the world of a small, French water
ing place does not stop to make deli
cate distinctions, and as the "belle-
Americaine" was living away from her
husband, it drew its own conclusions
accordingly. Many tried to explain it
but none succeeded, as no one had
succeeded on the other side of the
water, where Mrs. Chatham's affairs
had been an interesting but unfruitful
source of discussion.
Married very young to clever fel-
low, her life had showed only sunshine
to all beholders, till Tom Chatham had
become involved in some business
troubles, owing, it was said, to rash
speculations. Then, almost before he
was safely extricated, came the strange
move on MabeTs part Without any
talk, quietly and so suddenly that her
own family were confounded, she left
America and had now been living for
about q year in Europe.
And thus it was that she happened
to be at these French bGj71s, and to pass
under Ronald Grey's window every
morning. He got TO expecting her
after awhile, and to be disappointed
when it rained and there was no chance
of seeing the little, quick moving
figure, with its wealth of golden hair
and the dark eyes that were strangely
quiet and unwavering. He found him.
self weaving her into the story he had
sought this rather quiet place to finish;
only he never could quite catch the
charm of the living woman in his clev-
crest bits of description. She baf1led
him, hence his wish to meet her, but
she attracted him, hence his long re-
sistance.
At last chance brought it about.
Walking on the beach one afternoon
he heard voices on the other side of
point of rock, and rounding it, came in
sight Of Mrs. Chatham presenting an
immovable front to an obstreperous
beggar, who promised shortly to be-
come more formidable, to Judge by the
way his eyes We're fixed on the pocket
book in her hand.
Ronald Grey paused moment to adj
mire the little figure, standing there
with the small head erect and certain
decided look in the mouth that argued
i'll for the beggar. Then he went to
the rescue, routing the offender with
great slaughter, and earning for him.
self-simply the right to lift his hat
and withdraw, noting with satisfaction,
however, that Mrs Chatham grew
neither hysterical nor efusiyely CRATE
full. either of which would have been
foreign to her nature as he had drawn
her. And really it was some satisfae-
tion to sketch a pretty woman from the
distance and find the attempt so truth
full
So it might have ended had not some
mutual friends come along the beach
at this moment, and seeing the state of
the case, made the two actors in the
little scene acquainted with each other.
So they walked home together. Grey
arguing with himself that it was Of no